The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about a billion people (15 percent of the world’s population, but almost entirely in developing countries) suffer from undernutrition, which causes diseases such as diarrhea, malaria, pneumonia and measles. About a billion people go to bed hungry each night. Additionally, the World Bank estimated that 1.5 billion people were living in extreme poverty in 2010 — on less than $1.25 a day. Despite initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals and the expenditure of billions of dollars on development aid, these numbers continue to grow.
Children are disproportionately victims of hunger. In 2000, at least 32.5 percent of children in developing countries suffered from malnutrition, according to the World Health Organization. Many people who suffer from undernutrition also lack access to clean water, compounding associated problems.
Tragically, these circumstances exist in a world where agriculture is globally producing 17 percent more calories per person today than it was three decades ago, according to the FAO. These circumstances exist in a world where approximately 80 percent of all resources produced worldwide is consumed by just 16 percent of the world’s population, according to the World Bank in 1999. They exist in a world where over half the grain produced in the United States is used as livestock feed, when it could provide food for far more people than the livestock to which it is fed.
While the context of and circumstances surrounding food injustice and insecurity vary from region to region, a common denominator exists — inadequate access to sufficient quantities of healthy food.
Meeting the challenge of global hunger and ensuring that strategies and solutions emanate from those closest to the problem are key to food security. While this may be among the most difficult and complex development efforts the United States has undertaken, it will ensure equality and prosperity for more people across the globe.
To learn more about food injustice and global hunger, we encourage you to join us tomorrow, Tuesday night, at 8 p.m. in Irvine Auditorium to hear Mia Farrow speak about her experiences with poverty and hunger on the African continent. Please visit moralvoices.com to reserve tickets and for more information.
Moral Voices at Penn aims to raise awareness for social justice issues by partnering with campus student groups. The initiative can be contacted at info@moralvoices.com.
